24/03/2021 It’s time to repair the inequalities exposed by Covid-19 | Comment | The Times

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wednesday march 24 2021

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RED BOX | DOREEN LAWRENCE

It’s time to repair the inequalities

exposed by Covid-19
Doreen Lawrence

Wednesday March 24 2021, 12.01am, The Times

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T
his past year we’ve been separated and forced apart in
ways we once could never have imagined. But we have
also come together like never before.

I know that, as we mark a year since the first lockdown, we will

reflect in that spirit of togetherness. We will all of us try to
comprehend the scale of what we have experienced.

We will remember those so tragically lost. We will be thinking of

those deeply grieving. Many of them hit by the sorrow of not
being with their loved ones in their last moments nor able to
join with family or friends to say goodbye.

It is often said, but perhaps not fully appreciated, that behind

each statistic is a human story. As we reflect, I know many of us
will feel deep in our hearts how important it is that we continue
united.
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24/03/2021 It’s time to repair the inequalities exposed by Covid-19 | Comment | The Times

In this spirit, and in this moment of national unity, it will be

Comment especially important to recognise that some people have been
hit harder by this pandemic than others.

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Last year I led a review into the disproportionate impact of

Covid-19 on black, Asian and ethnic minority communities. My
findings were stark — this was an avoidable crisis. Covid-19 has
exposed and exacerbated the inequalities in our society.

From those struggling to make ends meet before March 2020

falling further into financial instability. Those with chronic
conditions or needing critical care facing delayed treatments.
Those dealing with mental health problems or loneliness
increasingly isolated.

And those from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities

not only dying at a disproportionate rate, but also overexposed,
underprotected, stigmatised and overlooked.

This is not a phenomenon of Covid-19 — it has been generations

in the making. The impact of the coronavirus is a result of
decades of structural injustice, inequality and discrimination
that blights our society.

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24/03/2021 It’s time to repair the inequalities exposed by Covid-19 | Comment | The Times

Comment

As we reflect on a year of tragic loss, we must break that clear

and tragic pattern. A public inquiry into the pandemic will be
key to this. We have to honestly confront how inequalities at all
levels of society have come to exist and the intersectional
impact they have.

This means recognising the interaction of faith, class, gender,

disability, sexuality, ethnicity and culture in order to truly
understand that no community is ever one homogeneous
group. Today we mourn and reflect on so much that has been
lost in the past year.

We must use this di cult milestone as a moment for dedicated

change. The time to act is now.

We need bold, joined-up policies and an approach that

encompasses tackling ethnic disparities, from housing to
employment and health.

As we remember those lost and reflect on the past year, we

must acknowledge this system of inequality — and how we now
must fix it to build a better society.

Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon is a Labour peer

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